House Hunting

mr626 · **Reply #60 on:** July 03, 2014, 01:04:53 AM

If its not too creepy / internet stalker-ish, I'd love to see some photos of the property.

Certainly sounds like you get good bang for your buck over there. Most local news reports I read these days proclaim how Sydney is one of the most expensive places to buy (and cost of living is rubbish too).

Good thing I'm not a city person and live far away where everything is cheaper

Still not as cheap as many other countries though.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #61 on:** July 03, 2014, 01:13:21 AM

Quote from: mr626 on July 03, 2014, 01:04:53 AM

If its not too creepy / internet stalker-ish, I'd love to see some photos of the property.

Eeew. EEEEWWWWWW!!! CREEPER!

No, it's cool. My hubby posted a set of pics on photobucket. I'll see about maybe copying some or something. Or, maybe I'll wait until we take possession of the place and take my own photos. In any event, i'll get some photos.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #62 on:** July 03, 2014, 03:04:10 AM

Okay... So, this should link to hubby's photobucket. It was password locked, but hopefully now, it's open.

http://s199.photobucket.com/user/bennyhoff/library/New%20house%202014?sort=6&page=1

50 pictures. Don't expect a palace.

jzmtl · **Reply #63 on:** July 03, 2014, 03:41:25 AM

Looks very nice! Lots of trees, neighbor in the back pretty far away, standalone garage for workshop, looks like real wood kitchen cabinets instead of the compressed sawdust in newer houses, and gas range.

Personally I'm not a fan of carpet, easy to get dirty and impossible to clean. The microwave/range hood combo usually are pretty weak, but may not matter depends on how you cook.

mr626 · **Reply #64 on:** July 03, 2014, 04:08:31 AM

Thanks for sharing, looks great. A couple of random thoughts/questions:

-I really like the house from the outside. Quite cottage-like with the colour scheme, style of windows and external cladding. Speaking of the cladding, it looks fairly new? Or maybe just recently painted?

-Inside looks great too, although maybe in need of some modernization? (Not being critical, just an observation).

-As with jzmtl, I'm not a huge fan of carpet myself. Do you think you'll keep it or go for something else? Any chance of there being a 'nice' floor underneath? (that happens here sometimes in older homes- people lay carpet on top of hardwood floorboards etc).

-Did I spy a chimney for a wood-burning fire?

-I love that so many of you guys in that part of the world have basements. I wish that was a standard thing here, I'd love the extra storage space

jzmtl · **Reply #65 on:** July 03, 2014, 04:28:52 AM

I don't know where she's at, but in many part of the US carpet is standard installation in majority of the homes, so it's probably plywood underneath.

MadPlumbarian · **Reply #66 on:** July 03, 2014, 05:27:51 AM

That's a cute little place, I love the little covered porch out the back, can still sit outside while it rains. But it's got a little piece of everything, little yard, little porch, little(well medium) garage, basement, little(very little) bathroom downstairs! Very nice! JR

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #67 on:** July 03, 2014, 06:17:38 AM

So, covering some questions.

Cabinets. I'm pretty sure they're all hardwood, if dated in style.

Gas Range: LOVE it. I hate leectric stoves. I might like the newer conduction tops, but I've never tried one. I know and like gas. Instant on, Instant off, instant adjustment. Also... the only way to wok.

Carpet. It'll likely stay, at least initially. When we moved into this place, I tore up the (brand new) carpet in my bed room, and laid down cheap laminate flooring, because of issues with dust allergies. I might do the same in the new place. maybe not. Throughout the rest of the house, it'll stay. hubby likes carpet, and seems convinced that a place isn't a real house without carpet. The house is from the late 40s/early 50s, so there's a fair chance that there's hardwood under the carpet.

Cladding: Vinyl. New or newish. Works fine until you get hit by golfball size hail.

Modernization: Yep. It would be nice, but that's a want, not a need, so kind of low priority. The only thing I might get hubby to agree to is increasing insulation in the attic. not terrible, but not enough IMO.

Chimney: Yes, but it was for a coal heating system that's been gone forever. Now it's just a vent for the gas furnace. No fireplace.

Basement Storage: Yes. YES! YYYYEESSSSSSS!!!! Oh, God. SO much storage space! This is really one of the things I've been in desperate need of.

Covered porch: Isn't that awesome? I LOVE sitting outside when it rains, with a hot cup of coffee, smelling air that's been freshly scrubbed clean.

And yeah, I think it has enough for our needs. We don't really DO anything in the back yard, and don't have kids. It'll be enough yard to keep hubby happy. Like with carpet, he doesn't seem to believe it's a REAL house unless there's a yard to mow.

Medium Garage: Yep. It makes me SO happy to think I'll have a place to work on crazy projects. I have a little love seat sized futon with a cracked frame, and can't fix it for want of a place to do ANY woodworking. Stupid. Also, we're discussing getting a new car soonish, and hubby would like to have a place to store it out of the elements so the paint doesn't get wrecked like on our current vehicle.

Little bathroom downstairs: The place was listed as 1.5 baths. It really only technically meets that, but at least it's got a spare crapper, in case of problems with the primary. I'm almost happier with the big utility sink beside the downstairs toilet. Useful.

Overall, the place is awesome. i'm sorry hubby didn't ever turn his camera upward while in the basement to look at the main supports of the house. The place is built like a tank. Apparently, in the 40s, they wanted to make them bomb proof.

Edit: Oh, hey... that fat lady in some of the pics? That's me.

Monrogue · **Reply #68 on:** July 03, 2014, 06:37:14 AM

That's great Lynn and I'm happy for you and your hubby

Chako · **Reply #69 on:** July 03, 2014, 07:55:52 AM

That looks like a very nice place. Perfect size at that. I wish my place had a basement also.

Billy Ruffian · **Reply #70 on:** July 03, 2014, 09:13:05 AM

Good luck with the move Lynn, hope it all goes through ok

You missed out some important detail though, like how far is the new house to the nearest burger place...?

lowtech · **Reply #71 on:** July 03, 2014, 09:22:24 AM

It looks lovely.
Good luck with teh buy and your move!

derekmac · **Reply #72 on:** July 03, 2014, 12:43:47 PM

Wow, what a great place Lynn!

To get that here, you'd probably be paying double what you guys are getting it for. Even I'm excited for you guys, and hope your move goes well.

enki_ck · **Reply #73 on:** July 03, 2014, 02:16:20 PM

Looks like a very nice new home you found.

Whoey · **Reply #74 on:** July 03, 2014, 02:26:06 PM

space for storage and projects...

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #75 on:** July 11, 2014, 06:25:00 AM

Final walk-through is Tomorrow after dinner. Loan stuff looks solid. Closing should be 10AM Tuesday.

We went through books, ditching old unwanted stuff, and making a run to the local library for donation. Going through other stuff, and spent some time yesterday comparison shopping for appliances. We're going to need a washer and dryer. Then we looked at new door locks.

Ugghhh... money... money... oh, some more money there. Need to paint some... more money. Paint some more stuff outside, money. Maybe replace the shower and tub spiggot... money. Do some work on the old place to get it ready for sale... more money.

Luckily we're made of money, have a money tree out back and I am a world class counterfeiter. (Note to any federal agencies reading this. That last bit was intended as a joke. I do not participate in nor condone the illegal production of counterfeit currency).

derekmac · **Reply #76 on:** July 11, 2014, 12:43:07 PM

Best of luck on your final walk-through Lynn!

Chako · **Reply #77 on:** July 11, 2014, 02:14:32 PM

Hope everything goes well...the move in...and the reward...some much deserved rest once its all done.

MadPlumbarian · **Reply #78 on:** July 11, 2014, 04:32:08 PM

Hope all goes as planed! JR

Oh and your going to throw a party for all of us once you do move in right

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #79 on:** July 12, 2014, 02:07:08 AM

And...

LEATHERMAN SAVES THE DAY!

We went to do our final walk-through, and the front door's deadbolt wouldn't unlock. Our agent fiddled with it, I fiddled with it... nothing. Then, I noticed the entire locking mechanism was turning in the door. Leatherman Wave tightens lock, aligns key. Door opens. Day saved.

I told hubby 'see, you never get to make fun of me carrying a multitool again'.
His response? 'I only make fun of you for owning like 60 of them at the same time.'

enki_ck · **Reply #80 on:** July 12, 2014, 02:24:29 PM

Quote from: Lynn LeFey on July 12, 2014, 02:07:08 AM

...

I told hubby 'see, you never get to make fun of me carrying a multitool again'.
His response? 'I only make fun of you for owning like 60 of them at the same time.'

As a great man once said...

Quote from: j-sews

In order to be certain of having the right tool for every job.........one must first acquire a lot of tools

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #81 on:** July 18, 2014, 02:36:15 PM

I thought I'd give a little update on progress on the new place.

We moved in, and first thing we wanted to do was change the locks. That didn't exactly go well. The front door lock is so far into 'non-standard' that it was pointless. We had to take the tumbler to be rekeyed instead. The back door (which hubby did) went in fine... of course. The Garage lock went in relatively smoothly. The side door had a 1 1/2" hole for the deadbolt, and current locks are like 2 1/8" standard. So I had to get a drill jig and redrill the whole. That was a bit nerve wracking, but now all the locks are done.

The place has a gas dryer hookup, and we currently have an electric dryer. So we went to buy a new one, along with a new washer. The hot water doesn't work on the old one. That was an hour and a half. Apparently, if you want to grind your life to a complete stop, try purchasing a gas dryer.

I painted one wall of the smaller bedroom. In the pics, it's the one with the weird argyle pattern. That was a super fast job. I thought it was going to take a few hours, and it ended up taking less than one hour total, with a pause between first and second coat.

We've been taking loads of stuff over to the new place on each run. Most of our books are there now, all of my infrequently used cookware, and about 4 boxes of paperwork we got when hubby's dad passed away in November. A lot of it is the really heavy stuff that, besides furniture, is the hardest stuff to move. We did the same thing last time we moved, so when friends came over to help with the move, it was just bulky furniture items. That's how you get folks to come back to help again when you need to move.

I have an outlet in the small bedroom I still need to fix. It's an old install, and not mounted to a stud, just held in with two plastic tabs on the back of the box. Whoever installed the box broke one of the tabs, so I have to fix that, probably later today.

Every now and then, I reflect on what hubby sees in me, because it isn't looks. Then I remember that I can do home repair stuff, and I cook! Beauty fades, but you're going to get hungry every day and that broken outlet ain't gonna fix itself.

Whoey · **Reply #82 on:** July 18, 2014, 02:53:55 PM

overachiever!

The wife and I recently painted 3 doors and the frames/trim in the hallway. It's not a terribly large area. They were dark stained wood, and now it's all white. I think it took us about 4 coats plus a coat of primer to completely cover it... over about 3 days (with several intervals to let the previous coats dry). We've now mostly run out of the paint we bought, and still have about half the trim in the bedroom to do, as well as about 3/4 of the office trim. We've slowly but surely been painting doors and trim and it has brightened the place up quite a bit, we don't exactly have a lot of windows, or direct sunlight.

Sounds like you have everything well in hand and well organized for what is a truly stressful experience.

MadPlumbarian · **Reply #83 on:** July 18, 2014, 06:29:32 PM

Congrats on the move in! Don't worry the wife says the same thing on fading, but I keep telling her, she's wrong beauty never fades, age only makes you MORE beautiful!! JR

Etherealicer · **Reply #84 on:** July 18, 2014, 06:57:58 PM

Congratz on the move

, enjoy your new "stupid-neighbor-free" home.

Lynn LeFey · **Reply #85 on:** July 19, 2014, 12:27:28 AM

Quote from: Etherealicer on July 18, 2014, 06:57:58 PM

Congratz on the move , enjoy your new "stupid-neighbor-free" home.

You have no idea how good it feels!

We've met the neighbors on either side and across the street. All seem like very nice folks. I'm kind of hoping that WE'RE going to be the 'bad neighbors', not that we're bad, but I think you know what I mean.

We picked up a new TV stand and put it in the living room. Now officially the first piece of furniture in the new place!